LFW: ANTONIO BERARDI S/S 2014

Antonio Berardi may be London’s most under appreciated label. The former assistant to John Galliano doesn’t seem to terribly concerned, though. He doesn’t even have a working web site at the moment, a matter he shrugs off with, “We’ll get to it soon.” I was amused as guests arrived to his show this morning still rubbing their eyes (the sun was actually shining), some were asking, “Who is this guy?” almost as frequently as “Where’s the coffee?”

For spring/summer 2014, Berardi does a good job of hitting all the major trends for the season. Jackets with padded rounded shoulders? Check. In fact, Berardi may well be the source for the whole not quite closed jacket trend. He’s been doing it for a few years. Plenty of pink? Oh my gawd, yes. Leopard print? Yep, it’s there. Sufficient amounts of sheer? Absolutely. In fact, camisole makers are probably going to do very well next spring. On the flip side, however, expect bra sales to plummet.

At the same time, Berardi bucks some trends and sticks with styles that have worked well for him before. Silhouettes are finely tailored, fitting precisely to the body, a trait of which Berardi is quite proud. Slacks fit close to the legs and dresses accentuate curves in very feminine forms. Berardi seems to have also taken a particular like to mermaid trains on several of his dresses this season; not necessarily the most practical touch since those things are easily caught in taxi doors and can really cause trouble going through the revolving doors that seem to be popping up everywhere.

Carefully embroidered embellishments on the last few looks were an especially nice touch, something new for Berardi. The added texture does a lot to give an extra boost that, by that point in the show, had begun to look a little too familiar.

Antonio Berardi really is an attractive and immensely wearable collection. Now, if someone can just get him out of his shell a bit so people can actually buy this stuff!